Johannes Rau (1999 - 2004)
| Date | Biography |
|---|---|
| 1931 | Born on 16 January in Wuppertal-Barmen |
| 1949-1967 | Worked in the publishing trade |
| 1952 | Joined the All-German People's Party (Gesamtdeutsche Volkspartei - GVP), which was disbanded in 1957 |
| 1957 | Joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) |
| 1964-1978 | Member of Wuppertal Town Council |
| 1970-1978 | Minister of Science and Research of Land North-Rhine/Westphalia |
| 1973-1998 | Member of the SPD Executive Committee of Land North-Rhine/Westphalia |
| 1977-1998 | Chairman of the SPD Executive Committee of Land North-Rhine /Westphalia |
| 1978-1999 | Member of the SPD Federal Executive Committee |
| 1978-1998 | Minister-President of Land North-Rhine/Westphalia |
| 1982-1983 | President of the Bundesrat |
| 1982-1999 | Deputy Chairman of the SPD |
| 1987 | SPD Chancellor candidate at the Bundestag elections |
| 1994-1995 | President of the Bundesrat |
| 23 May 1994 | Defeated in the election for the office of Federal President by Professor Roman Herzog |
| 27 May 1998 | Resigned as Minister-President |
| 2 November 1998 | Nominated as candidate for the office of Federal President by the SPD Federal Executive Committee |
| 23 May 1999 | Elected as Federal President by the Federal Convention in Berlin |
| 1999-2004 | Federal President |
| 2006 | Johannes Rau died on 27 January |
Johannes Rau was Protestant. He married Christina Delius in 1982. They had three children.
